The 1978 Michigan State grad is not new to the area, having held a variety of positions in banking and at the Texas Medical Center over the past 30-plus years. But he is new to the GHCVB. On the job since November, his official title is health care and life sciences consultant, but what he's really focused on is bringing major medical conferences to Houston.

Raising Houston's awareness as a medical hub is key to initiatives being put forth by the Texas Medical Center and the Greater Houston Partnership to turn Houston into a major medical drug and device development center, alongside Boston, San Francisco and Raleigh-Durham.

What we recognized is that right now, across the world, people think about energy, and they think of Houston. They don't think of Houston when they think of health care. We need to fix that, because there is no larger concentration of medical services than in Texas Medical Center. It is unparalleled and unmatched and it's an incredible reason for people across the U.S. and across the globe to come to Houston. So we thought if we created a professional meeting, highlighting the best and brightest here, bringing in world renowned speakers, Houston would become a real designation for life sciences and medicine.

What's the outlook for the inaugural show?

Initially, we expected it to draw primarily from the local market. But it's exceeding our expectations, drawing people from over 20 states and 20 countries. It's really astonishing for a first year program.

It seems like this meshes nicely with Dr. Robert Robbins' plans to make the Texas Medical Center the country's next biotech hub.

(GHCVB President) Greg Ortale's mission was to bring conventions that align with our key markets. The Texas Gulf Coast region is roughly the size of New Jersey. In that space, we're doing over $3 billion in research, have over 7 million patient visits a year, and over 3,000 clinical trials. Dr. Robbins' plan is a startling and compelling vision, and one that I think he's uniquely capable of fulfilling.

But he's cautioned people that this is a project that's not going to happen overnight. It's something that could take years — even decades — to develop, yes?

Barbara Bush has called the Texas Medical Center "Houston's gift to the world." But think about it: The Texas Medical Center was started in the 1940s. That's 70 years. It has taken that long for the Texas Medical Center to become what it is today. Dr. Robbins' plan is going to take billions of dollars, focus and investment. It's a culture change.